The inherent nonlinearity in cubic autocatalytic system has been the reason for its study in various combinations. Parallel cubic... Show moreThe inherent nonlinearity in cubic autocatalytic system has been the reason for its study in various combinations. Parallel cubic autocatalytic reactions are analogous to the simultaneous consumption of multiple substrates by the same autocatalytic species. Steady state analysis reveals that there can be up to five steady states possible and two of them are always unstable. Individual parameter effect on steady state structure leads to identification of an isola, mushroom and other exotic patterns on equilibrium plot. Stability analysis leads to developing an operating diagram, which also explains the oscillatory behavior with the study of Hopf bifurcation. Concept of coupled isothermal continuous stirred tank reactors enriches the complexity of the system and the steady state behavior. The two reactors are identical in terms of the feed concentrations and the reactor space time. The coupled reactor system can have maximum twenty five steady states at very low interaction rate (R → 0), nine out of which may be stable. The steady state analysis portrays the patterns for transition in number of steady states as R is varied. Appearance of an additional Hopf point confirms the effect of complexity of coupled reactors configuration on stability structure of the system. Numerical simulations exhibit the rich steady state behavior in coupled reactors. Dynamic study for single reactor confirms the possibility of chaos in multistable parameter space. The coupled reactor dynamics focuses on the limit cycle interactions and emergence of chaos due to an added complexity. M.S. in Chemical Engineering, May 2012 Show less
